Just a Game
by StrangeAttractors
Summary: Based on Tumblr prompt. A harmless night of fun with the liars leads Spencer to admit her feelings for Paige, much to Emily's dismay. What happens when a party and a friendly game of Spin the Bottle dredges up resentments, desires and feelings of jealousy? McHastings with established Paily.
1. Just A Game

**Based on this prompt: **the plliars are hanging out and the topic of who would you date out of the 4 of us comes out, Hanna and Emily pick each other, Aria picks Spencer and Spencer reveals she has a little crush on Paige, Emily knows Paige finds Spencer attractive but tries not to think about it too much, at a party they play spin the bottle with their respective bf/gf and Spencer and Paige end up giving the others a make out show that makes Emily jealous. Everyone notices the tension in the room.

**Btw, I promise I'm not neglecting The People We Could Be. The best cure for writers block is to write, am I right? New Chapter for that story coming this week.**

**Just A Game (Part 1 of 2)**

"This is stupid." Spencer said indignantly from her place on the couch beside Aria.

Emily and Aria nodded in agreement, but their eyes remained fixed to the movie playing in front of them as they distractedly scooped handfuls of popcorn into their mouths. It was one of those rare weekends that the girls could actually relax like normal teenagers and the last thing Spencer wanted to do was play another round of 21 questions, Truth or Dare, or What Would You Rather Do courtesy of Hanna Marin. Queen of making even the most innocent situations uncomfortable and sexually inappropriate.

Hanna rolled her eyes, brushing off Spencer's disinterest. "No, it's not! C'mon, I really want to know."

"No." Spencer deadpanned, sliding the popcorn bowl from Aria's lap into her own, much to Emily's dismay who was stuck on the opposite end of the couch and out-of-reach of the bowl.

"Em?" Hanna deferred to the more benevolent of the three, giving her a gentle tap on the knee to get her attention. "What do you think?"

"About what?" Emily asked, only half-focused on what Hanna was saying as she leaned across Aria to reclaim the popcorn bowl from Spencer.

Hanna huffed in annoyance, aware that no one was really listening to her. "For goodness sake!" She jumped up from her place on the rug and snatched the popcorn bowl from Emily, immediately earning all three girls attention as she retreated to the love-seat in the furthest corner of the room.

"Hey!" Spencer, Emily and Aria screamed in unison, each sending an annoyed glare in Hanna's direction.

"Now that I've got you're attention I'll repeat my question for the _third _time." Realizing that Hanna wasn't going to let up the three girls reluctantly turned towards her to listen. "Between the four of us who would you rather date?" Hanna asked before smugly popping a kernel of popcorn into her mouth as she waited for an answer.

"Is this just another way for you to find out if girls think you're attractive? Because if this about that pink drink again I swear-" Emily's reprimand was quickly interrupted by a defensive Hanna.

"It's not about the pink drink!" The raised eyebrows thrown in her direction made it clear that none of them believed her. "Don't look at me like that. You can't tell me you haven't thought about it before."

"I have." Aria piped up earning a triumphant smile from Hanna and curious stares from Emily and Spencer.

"You have?" Spencer asked skeptically, her interest suddenly peaked by the shorter girls admission.

"Yeah, totally." She said it as if it were the most logical thing in the world and…maybe it was? After all it had happened before with Emily and Alison, so everyone knew it was definitely possible to cross that line between friendship and something more.

"And?" Hanna urged impatiently, literally hanging off the edge of her seat as she waited for Aria to continue.

"I'd choose Spencer." Aria answered with a shrug, taking all three girls by surprise with the decisiveness of her statement. "The whole bookworm thing is kinda hot. Plus, She knows my coffee order better than anyone else and all the servers are too intimidated by her to challenge her." She added the last bit as way of explanation, unaware of the blush that was currently creeping up Spencer's neck at hearing that Aria thought she was hot.

"What about you two?" Aria directed her question to Hanna and Emily, who looked at each other knowingly before simultaneously blurting the others name and bursting into a fit of laughter.

"Well I can't really say that's a surprise." Aria said with a playful nudge to Spencer's side. Hanna and Emily already acted like an old married couple, and were admittedly closer to each other than anyone else, much in the same way Spencer and Aria were.

"Spence? You're up." Emily said, leaning her elbows on her knees to look around Aria who was positioned between them.

"I don't want to play."

"Oh, come on Spencer. It's harmless fun." Hanna encouraged with a toothy grin. Spencer knew she was just hoping she'd pick her so she could finally have a one-up against Shana's constant snubbing of her.

"You guys are my best-friends. I honestly don't think of any of you that way." It was true. She couldn't imagine "dating" _any _of her friends, even in a hypothetical sense. Yeah, sure she'd imagined what it might be like to kiss Emily once or twice, and she and Aria -in a night of drunken curiosity- had even gone so far as to test those waters, but dating was different. Dating involved romance, courtship and physical as well as emotional intimacy, and Spencer couldn't picture herself doing those things with the same friends who were like family to her.

"Ooookay…" Hanna drawled, realizing Spencer wasn't going to play by the rules of the game. "How about a girl that's not one of us? If you weren't with Toby who's a girl you would want to date?" Spencer felt her face grow warm when a familiar name instinctively popped into her head, and she struggled to swallow the lump that immediately formed in her throat.

She didn't _want _to think of Paige but apparently her subconscious had other plans, because the moment Hanna asked the question hers was the only name she could think of. She felt horrible for even considering the idea, not just because she was Emily's girlfriend but also because there were times (though few in number) when Spencer selfishly wondered what it would be like if Paige wasn't.

She wasn't sure what it was about Paige that appealed to her so much. Maybe it was the passion she put into everything she pursued? Or the fierceness in which she loved and protected Emily? Or maybe it was the little things -things that only people who spent as much time as Spencer did watching Paige would notice- like the way her hands fidgeted even when she wasn't nervous, or how she always seemed surprised by any compliment she received (no matter how obvious it was) as if she wasn't used to being praised. Spencer wished she didn't notice those things, wished she didn't bookmark every "little thing" Paige did on a page inside her mind to visit over and over again like a good book she couldn't put down. But most of all she wished she hadn't let Hanna talk them into this stupid, _stupid _game.

"Earth to Spencer." Hanna joked, tossing a kernel of popcorn in the air and hitting Spencer square on the forehead.

"Hey, you're going to get food everywhere. You know Mrs. Montgomery hates messes. Do you remember what happened last time when you spilled Pepsi on the rug?" Spencer was desperate to shift the subject of conversation to something _not _Paige McCullers, but unfortunately her attempts were a bit more obvious than she intended.

"Nice subject change, but it's not gonna work. Pick someone." Aria ordered.

"I don't really have anyone in mind." Spencer answered vaguely, shifting on the couch so that her knees were folded underneath her and twisting her ring on her finger just to give her hands something to do.

"But you_ did _think of someone." Hanna prodded, picking up on Spencer's tone and realizing she did have someone in mind after all.

Despite herself, Spencer felt her eyes involuntarily flick guiltily towards Emily and that was all it took for Hanna to connect the dots.

"Oh my god, it's Paige! The girl you would date is Paige." Her voice was way more triumphant than it had any right to be considering the surprise written on Emily's face and the mortification on Spencer's once the truth was out.

"Really? You two argue every chance you get. I thought you just hung out with Paige for my sake." Emily's eyes stayed locked on Spencer's, searching her face as if she were looking for something that had previously been hidden.

"I _did_, in the beginning. But after I got to know her -I don't know- she kind of grew on me. It's actually really annoying." Spencer added trying to downplay it.

Emily didn't know how to feel knowing that Spencer would date Paige given the opportunity, especially after her girlfriend had already admitted to her early on in their relationship that she thought Spencer was attractive. Emily had thought nothing of it back then, aware that Paige had only meant the remark in a casual sense and would never do anything to hurt her, least of all with her best friend. However, knowing that Spencer shared similar feelings complicated the situation. It made something inside Emily's stomach twist like she'd eaten something sour. She didn't feel jealous, what she felt was worse. She felt…_threatened_. Because deep down she knew they'd be perfect together.

"I'm with Spencer on this one. I sure wouldn't turn Paige down if she sent me a pink drink. Paige is a total hottie. Like seriously, have you seen those biceps? It must be a swimmer thing." Hanna's eyes roamed over Emily's biceps, clearly trying to determine if it indeed was a "swimmer thing," and Emily felt her mood instantly lighten and a smile tug at the corners of her lips.

Satisfied with her study of Emily's biceps Hanna hopped up with the -now empty- popcorn bowl in hand. "I'm gonna get a refill. You guys want anything?"

"I could use another soda. I'll come with you." Aria said as she stood and followed Hanna out of the living room.

Once the other two girls had left Spencer lightly touched Emily's arm to get her attention.

"Em? You know I was just playing along, right? I love Toby and even if we weren't together I'd never try anything with P-"

"You don't have to explain." Emily hurriedly interrupted before Spencer could finish her apology. She felt guilty for even thinking, even momentarily, that Spencer would betray her like that, especially after everything they'd been through. If there was one thing she knew about Spencer and Paige it was that she could trust them both with her life, and that neither would ever do anything to jeopardize the relationship they had with her.

"It's just a game Spence. Now, come on we should catch up to Hanna before she makes that gross unsalted stuff that nobody likes." Spencer's smile matched Emily's as they both made their way into the kitchen, each secretly clinging to the relief they felt that their fears were right back where they belonged. Buried.

After all it was only a game.

TBC…


	2. Cabin Parties

**So this story kinda snowballed so I extended it to three parts rather than two. The ending just didn't feel complete to me so I thought I'd provide a little closure. Thanks so much for the reviews and messages! It's nice to see so many people with such strong feelings for McHastings and Paily. For those of you wondering about the endgame nature of this story you'll just have to keep reading to find out how it all ends. ;)**

**Just A Game (Part 2 of 3)**

"Why does every party in this town have to be in the middle of nowhere." Emily smiled at Paige's words, watching her eyebrows furrow adorably as she scanned the trees surrounding the rowdy cabin for anything suspicious. She had to admit that Paige had a pretty valid point. It was as if the entire High School population of Rosewood collaborated every year to host the most remote, accident prone parties known to man. The last two times Emily had been at a cabin she'd been either dragged from a burning building, or pulling a drowning Jenna out of the lake. She was starting to question why they'd agreed to come at all when Paige tugged on her hand, drawing her attention to gentle brown eyes and an understanding smile.

"I'm just kidding Em. Don't worry, we're going to have a great time." She pressed a quick kiss to Emily's cheek before tightening her hold on her hand and proceeding up the porch steps lined with Solo cups.

Once inside it was clear that the alcohol was being dispensed liberally because everything was way too loud and everyone was way too friendly. The party was clearly nearing that tipping point where buzzed and clingy turned into sloppy drunk, and Paige and Emily both silently vowed to arrive earlier next time.

It was too crowded to make out anyone in the mass of bodies, but that didn't stop Emily from scanning the crowd instinctively in search of her friends. When she came up empty she turned her focus back to Paige.

"Do you want something to drink?" Paige asked, leaning to whisper into Emily's ear when the music from the sound systems drowned out her voice. Emily shivered when Paige's lips brushed her ear but managed to mouth a grateful 'Yes', and Paige interlocked their fingers, navigating them through the crowd towards the back of the house.

They were almost there when a tall, muscular guy came tumbling through the crowd, knocking into Emily hard enough to pull her hand from Paige's grasp.

"Hey!" Paige yelled angrily when the guy hadn't even bothered to turn around to apologize. She made sure Emily was steady on her feet before heatedly turning around to go confront the guy, but Emily's fingers circling her wrist made her stop in her tracks.

"Look." Emily said, nodding towards the patio area the guy was stumbling onto and watching as he hunched over the railing before barfing over the ledge. Both girls cringed when they heard the contents of his stomach splatter across the sidewalk below, which was followed by several disgusted female screams.

Understanding the rush the guy was in Paige relaxed and turned back to Emily.

"You're okay, right?" She asked, pushing an errant strand of hair behind Emily's ear.

"I'm fine." Emily said giving her girlfriend a reassuring smile. "Were you really going to fight that guy?" Emily asked, hoping that Paige was just bluffing a while ago. She knew Paige was protective and that she certainly had the physical strength to back up her personality, but that didn't mean she wanted her pummeling every guy that so much as brushed by her too roughly.

"Fight him? No, of course not." Paige responded shaking her head, genuinely surprised that Emily thought she would fight a guy 3 times her size. "However, I was going to have a very stern talk to him about manners and proper party etiquette. That was just plain rude." Paige's expression was joking but her tone indicated there was a little bit of truth to her statement.

"You're such a goofball." Emily said affectionately before placing a quick kiss to Paige's lips.

"Thank you?" Paige responded with a grin. Emily then re-connected their hands, gently pulling them through the crowd until they were finally approaching the kitchen. The moment they entered Paige made a beeline for the harder drinks and mixed one for Emily before grabbing a Coke for herself. She handed the mixed cup to Emily who gave her a curious frown.

"You're not drinking?" She asked eyeing the Coke in Paige's hand. They'd caught a ride with one of the girls from the swim team to the party and were planning on car pooling with Spencer and Toby afterwards, so neither had to worry about driving later on.

"After what I just saw come out of that dude's mouth you can have mine. In fact, I'm pretty sure I never want to drink again." She popped the tab on her can and took a long sip as Emily started laughing.

"Good point." Emily said, setting her drink down and grabbing a Coke from the cooler before joining Paige in downing the beverage.

"There you two are!" Paige and Emily both turned towards the familiar voice just in time to see Hanna rounding a corner with Caleb in tow. "I was starting to think you two bailed on us to make-out in Paige's pool or something." Hanna said grinning, ignoring Paige and Emily's wide eyes.

"You told her?" Paige whispered sheepishly to Emily who simply shook her head.

Hanna's smile only grew wider at Paige's words. "I was totally kidding, but it's nice to know how you girls spend your free time."

"Hanna!" Emily scolded trying to hush the girl. If Emily hadn't known any better she'd swear Hanna got paid to meet a quota of how many people she could embarrass a day.

"Sorry." Hanna mumbled from beneath a stifled laugh, not sounding particularly sorry at all.

"So…um where's Aria and Spencer?" To say Emily was desperate to change the subject would've been an understatement. She was sure if she and Paige had to endure anymore of Hanna's comments they'd both be a permanent shade of red.

"Last time I saw Spence she and Toby were on the back porch playing table-tennis with a few other people." Hanna said with a light roll of her eyes. Spencer was probably decimating some poor sap who didn't know who they were up against, while Toby watched on cheering like an obsessed football fan. Those two were pretty hardcore when it came to sports…or board games…or _any _kind of competition.

"And Aria is right over there." They all followed Hanna's line of sight to the dance floor where Aria and Jake were enthusiastically dancing to _Rock Your Body _by Justin Timberlake, and Aria had a smile that stretched from ear-to-ear. After all the teary nights they'd spent consoling Aria over her break-up with Ezra it was nice to finally see her enjoying herself again. Jake made her happy and they had to admit the two of them made a cute -and _very _well coordinated- couple.

When a sudden surge of laughter and music erupted from behind them their eyes followed the sound to the basement door on the other side of the kitchen.

"I wonder what's going on down there?" Caleb asked, quirking an eyebrow as a tall blonde girl made her way out of the open door.

"Hey!" Paige called out to get the girl's attention. "Do you know what's happening down there?"

The girl in question eyed Paige slyly, allowing her eyes to rake across Paige's _entire _body before returning to her face. "They're about to play Spin-the-Bottle, and if I'd known _you _might be interested I would've stayed for the first round." Her tone was so blatantly flirtatious it was almost obscene and Emily cleared her throat loudly to get the girl to look away from Paige. At the sound the blonde finally noticed Emily and the other two people standing with Paige, and she at least had the sense of mind to look guilty before disappearing into the crowded party.

"Did you hear that?" Hanna exclaimed excitedly, practically bouncing on the heels of her feet.

"Yeah." Emily answered, though her mind was clearly on a different train of thought than Hanna's. She folded her arms tightly in front of her before turning a exasperated gaze to Paige. "That girl was totally flirting with you."

Paige frowned, adopting the expression of an innocent puppy dog as she shook her head vehemently.

"No she wasn't. She was just being nice." Paige said sincerely, not understanding her girlfriends' sudden mood shift.

"Are you kidding? Nice is '_I like your skirt_.' That girl couldn't have been more obvious if she took her shirt off and spelled your name across her stomach." Caleb added unhelpfully, beginning to chuckle to himself before Paige silenced him with a swift slap to his shoulder.

"We have to play!" Hanna interrupted, saving Caleb any more physical abuse and distracting Paige from the lecture she knew was imminent from Emily.

"Why do we _have to _play? We're not in middle school Han, and I'm not playing spin-the-bottle in Noel Kahn's basement. Ew." Emily shivered as if the mere idea of it was physically discomforting.

"Em." Hanna whined, tugging on Emily's hand.

"Hanna." Emily mimicked derisively.

"Maybe it will be fun?" Paige spoke up, interrupting the both of them, though she immediately regretted that decision when she registered the hurt expression on Emily's face.

"Y-you want to play?" Emily stuttered, trying to force down the mental images of Paige kissing that smug blonde from earlier when they spontaneously surfaced in her mind.

Paige recognized the look in Emily's eyes and immediately worked to reassure her. "Not because of that girl!"The words couldn't have come out of Paige's mouth faster if she tried. "It's just…I've never played before, and all those cheesy teen dramas always made it look like so much fun." She offered Emily a bashful smile and Emily softened hearing Paige's explanation.

Most of the stories Paige had divulged about her childhood made it clear that she didn't have the best Middle School experience, and Emily guessed that Paige also missed out on a lot of the social aspects of her youth. Like sleepovers, and cheesy teen drama stuff like Spin-the-Bottle parties. All of which were things that had been a huge part of Emily's younger years. The last thing Emily wanted was to discourage Paige from something she might actually enjoy just because she didn't want to play.

"But if you're uncomfortable with it I totally underst-" Paige obviously mistook Emily's contemplative silence for anger and quickly worked to back out of what she'd said earlier.

"No, it's fine!" Emily interjected hurriedly, smiling to let Paige know she really didn't mind. "You're right it'll probably be fun. We should play." Paige's smile broadened and she leaned in to press a quick 'thank you' kiss to Emily's lips, but was interrupted when Hanna tackled Emily with a hug as her own gesture of thanks.

"Yes! This is going to be fun." Hanna shouted, squeezing Emily tighter and bouncing them back and forth. Emily gave Paige and apologetic look from over Hanna's shoulder before laughing and awkwardly returning the embrace.

"You don't have any thoughts on this?" Paige asked, lightly elbowing Caleb in the ribs when she noticed the boy had been mostly silent.

"I just do what the lady wants." Caleb said with his eyes glued to Hanna and a love-struck grin plastered on his face. Paige scoffed and made a very accurate "whipped" pantomime in his direction.

"Look who's talking." Caleb retorted, shoving Paige in the shoulder playfully.

* * *

Hanna led the way into the basement and the others followed silently as they approached a circle of eight people sitting cross-legged on the carpet. A few of the them were familiar faces, and among the circle they immediately spotted Andrew, Jackie and…_Spencer_?

"Spence!" Hanna called to the brunette who startled at hearing her name but, seeing who it was, quickly waved them over.

"I thought you were playing table tennis with Toby?" Hanna inquired as she took the spot next to Spencer and the other members of the circle scooted closer together to make room for Caleb, Emily and Paige.

"I decided to take a break." Spencer explained, rubbing her elbow for emphasis of her point. Hanna and Emily threw each other a look, aware that her excuse was code for 'I overdid it and hurt myself,' but they kept quiet knowing Spencer was too proud to admit she got so invested in a "friendly" game of ping-pong.

"And Toby?" Emily asked, after scanning the room and noticing he was absent.

"He's valiantly defending the Hastings-Cavanaugh title." Spencer answered proudly, with a look that said 'do-you-even-have-to-ask'.

"So you decided you'd hang out down here and wait for him?" Hanna asked, clearly poking fun at Spencer for being in the basement.

"More like I was lured by the prospects of playing a 'better game' by a certain decathlon who shall not be named." Spencer sent a narrowed glare in Andrew's direction and he suddenly pretended to be engrossed in the carpet fibers to avoid eye contact.

"I was actually just on my way back upstairs." Spencer said, pushing herself off the ground only to be tugged back down by Hanna.

"Why? You should stay and play." Hanna said sincerely, with none of the traces of jest in her tone from earlier.

Spencer gave her a hard look. "Hanna, in all the years you've known me do you honestly believe I would ever play spin-the-bottle in Noel Kahn's basement?" Emily smiled hearing Spencer's rationale reflect her own from earlier.

"The four of us are playing." Hanna gestured vaguely to herself and their three friends sitting to her left. "That should make a difference."

"It does make a difference." Spencer agreed, watching Hanna's face light up before she continued. "And the difference is a 36% probability that it lands on one of you guys." She smirked at the grimace that settled on Hanna's face the moment she started talking about math. She couldn't help but think of the last time she agreed to one of Hanna's games 3 weeks ago, remembering how awkward that turned out. Granted, this wasn't exactly one of _"Hanna's games"_ per say but the mere fact that she was supporting it meant it was destined to end badly.

It was one of the laws of Rosewood: Hanna's plans always go up in flames…sometimes literally.

"Since when is Spencer Hastings afraid of a little competition?" Paige chimed-in, with a smile that Spencer wished she didn't find so damn charming. Spencer wasn't sure if she should blame her pride, or her inability to back down from a challenge for the reason she instantly lowered back into her seat. The one thing she _was _sure of however (well, _mostly _sure) was that it was absolutely _not _because of Paige McCullers. Nope. Not even a little bit.

The instant Spencer sat down Jackie returned to the circle, holding an empty beer bottle and placing it in the center. All the chatter quickly died down and everyone focused on Jackie while she briefly skimmed through the rules as well as the consequences for backing out.

The first spin went to an attractive brunette sitting to the left of Jackie. Her spin landed on a sophomore boy Spencer and Emily both recognized from their Economics class, who looked ready to faint at the idea of kissing the more mature girl. It took four more spins before one of the five of them finally got into the game when Andrew's spin landed on Emily.

Emily ignored the immature wolf-whistles directed at them as she inched forward to meet Andrew. She honestly liked Andrew, despite catching him in his underwear in Spencer's living room that one time, and she figured he wasn't the worst person to kiss. She decided on a quick peck on the lips and he gave a her a goofy smile as she pulled away. There were a couple disappointed groans from two guys who were obviously hoping to see Emily Fields make-out with a guy and Paige sent a hard glare in their direction, to which they immediately quieted.

Paige was next and Emily instantly tensed when her girlfriend leaned forward to take her spin. Why did this make her so nervous? She knew she had no reason to be. So, why did her heart feel like it was swimming in the pit of her stomach?

The bottle began to slow, rotating almost teasingly until it gradually slid to a halt on…Spencer.

The circle erupted in a mix of cheers and giggles and unsurprisingly Hanna was the loudest of them. Paige's eyes drifted to Spencer who was staring at the bottle with a frown as if it were involved in some act of sorcery, before turning to her girlfriend who was staring intently at Spencer.

"Em, is this alright?" Paige asked, finally bringing Emily's attention back to her.

"Yeah, of course." Emily lied, convincing everyone but herself.

Accepting Emily's response, and seeing that Spencer wasn't going to make the move on her own, Paige purposefully crawled directly in front of Spencer.

"Don't take this the wrong way Hastings." Paige said with a teasing smile, momentarily locking eyes with Spencer, before closing the distance between them and pressing their lips together in a firm but chaste kiss. The kiss lasted about 3 seconds longer than Emily thought necessary but she remained silent and seemingly unphased.

"Not too bad, right?" Paige asked with a smile so genuine Spencer couldn't help but return it.

"I've had worse." Spencer replied coolly, hoping Paige couldn't hear how fast her heart was beating or see the flush to her cheeks. Paige knew Spencer's words were about as close to a compliment that she was going to get, and she honestly felt relieved that Spencer hadn't totally freaked out about the whole 'kissing her' thing.

By the time Spencer's spin was over -following a predictable turn from Caleb which landed on Hanna- her stomach was completely in knots. Of course her spin just _had _to land on Paige, and of course the so-called "rules" mandated that the 2nd kiss with the same person _had _to be with tongue. Who knew there were so many rules to Spin-the-Bottle?

"If this is too weird I can just take the dare." Paige whispered to Emily, noticing how rigid she'd gone the moment the bottle landed on her for the second time. As far as Emily was concerned this was beyond weird. Her girlfriend was literally asking if she could kiss her best-friend while she watched on. This had to be the most uncomfortable situation she'd ever been in and that was including the time Cece locked her in a wooden box trying to saw her in half.

"Why should _you_ take the dare? It's _my_ turn. If anyone's taking it it'll be me." Spencer said with a frown, torpedoing Paige's whole 'throw myself on the sword' suggestion. She knew the entire thing was awkward as hell and despite actually wanting to kiss Paige again, she didn't want Emily to be uncomfortable. She honestly couldn't tell if Emily really didn't mind or if she was just putting on a front.

"What's the big deal? We're all friends! Just kiss each other already." Hanna's remark received an exasperated glare from Spencer and Emily, and she shrunk into Caleb's side before reluctantly zipping her lips.

Emily realized that if she told Paige 'no' she would also have to explain why and the last thing she wanted was for Paige (or Spencer) to know that she was jealous. Even though it had been 3 weeks since she found out Spencer liked Paige time had done nothing to quell her discomfort. It didn't matter that Paige was in love with _her _or that Spencer was _her _best-friend and in love with Toby, when it came to Paige she was selfish. She didn't want to share the girl with anyone else, even if only for a few seconds in a stupid game of Spin-the-Bottle.

Still, she found herself nodding and forcing a smile that looked surprisingly natural onto her face.

"No, don't back out. It's okay." Paige seemed like she was about to protest but Emily gently shook her head. "Really Paige, I don't mind." She pushed her shoulders to urge her forward and Paige scooted to the center, followed by Spencer who met her in the middle. A few people whistled as the two crouched in front of one another and a few others cheered them on as if it were a performance that actually warranted praise.

"Ready?" Paige asked tentatively, noticing how apprehensive Spencer seemed. Paige didn't even think nervous was in the Spencer Hastings emotional repertoire, the girl was arguably the most intimidating person she'd ever met.

Spencer finally met Paige's eyes and visibly calmed at the reassurance she saw reflected in them. Deciding to get it over with as fast as possible Spencer took a deep breath and quickly leaned forward capturing Paige's lips for the second time that night. It was nowhere near as graceful as their first kiss. The sudden movement caused Paige to stumble back slightly, and she extended her hand to steady herself by gently grasping the side of Spencer's neck. Their movements were clumsy and uncoordinated and Paige began to pull away, suddenly feeling self-conscious, until Spencer dipped her head forward in a silent encouragement to keep going. When Paige responded by kissing her back more forcefully Spencer's stomach began to flip like a fish out of water. She felt the sudden urge to do something with her hands so she rested one against Paige's cheek, pulling her closer, while Paige brought the hand that wasn't already on Spencer's neck to her waist. Once they got the hang of it their movements became soft, languid and unhurried like a paintbrush gliding across an empty canvas.

Spencer felt the knots in her stomach loosen and when Paige's tongue slipped out to graze her bottom lip she didn't hesitate to allow her access. There was a quiet sigh the instant their tongues met and Spencer couldn't tell whether it was from her or Paige. All she knew was that Paige's mouth was warmer and more inviting than she could ever have imagined, and her lips were so much softer than Toby's-

_Toby_.

The thought of Toby had all the effects of being doused in cold water and Spencer immediately disconnected from Paige and backed away. She watched Paige's eyes blink open slowly before recognition dawned on her and her eyes snapped to the spot Emily had been sitting in, noticing it was now empty. If it hadn't been for the music playing in the background the basement would've been completely silent, because everyone was just…_staring_. Even Hanna was uncharacteristically silent as watched the two of them with wide eyes and an open mouth. A wounded expression crept onto Paige's face and before Spencer could blink twice the girl was gone, rushing up the stairs to follow after Emily.

"Wow…" Someone whispered, finally breaking the silence, and Spencer knew she needed to move. She quickly stood up and headed towards the stairs leaving the curious chatter from the other players behind as she flew up the steps. Hanna and Caleb jumped up to follow her, each with their own set of questions about what just happened but Spencer's mind was on other things.

It was one thing to kiss your best-friends' girlfriend and it was another thing to _enjoy _it. She couldn't help feeling like she'd endangered her friendship with Emily, Emily's relationship with Paige, as well as her own with Toby all because of a stupid game.

It was official. Cabin parties sucked.

TBC...


	3. Kiss and Tell

**This is the final chapter for this fic and, once again, I'd just like to send a huge thanks the anon who sent me the original prompt. This was a really interesting story to write. Sorry it took so long to update, I've been in job training the last three weeks and it _really_ ate up my time. :/**

**Mr. Awesomepants: Your review was very amusing. I hope you can sleep soundly now that it's finally over. ;)**

**To all my reviewers: *virtually hugs each one of you***

**Just A Game (Part 3 of 3)**

"What just happened?" Hanna wasted no time in drilling Spencer for answers, trailing hot on the brunette's heels as the they cleared the basement door and stepped back into the kitchen.

Spencer ignored her friend's inquisition as her eyes wandered over the crowd for any signs of Paige or Emily. There was so much noise and so many people clamored into the cabin that it was impossible to spot the two girls. She had no clue what she was going to say once she found them, or whether Emily would even listen to her. All she knew was that she had to explain this somehow. She had to make this right again.

"Spence?" Hanna's hand rested on her shoulder, drawing her attention back into curious blue eyes.

"I don't know what happened, okay?" She threw her hands in the air with a huff, feeling far more annoyed with herself than she was with Hanna. "I didn't think it would to get so-"

"Voyeuristic? Risqué? Scandalous?" Hanna interrupted.

On any other day Spencer would have commended Hanna's extensive vocabulary of synonymous words, but tonight she was simply frustrated with the interruption.

"I was going to say intense. Geez Hanna!" She picked up a glass off the counter and filled it a quarter of the way full with whatever booze was nearest before downing it all in one gulp. The burn in the back of her throat was a welcome distraction to the tornado of thoughts in her head and the phantom feeling of Paige's lips on her skin.

"Well whatever it was you better figure out how to fix it, because I'm pretty sure Hallmark doesn't have a section for 'sorry I frenched your girlfriend'?" Hanna admonished sarcastically, pulling the glass from Spencer's hand and placing it out of reach when she went in for a refill. "And getting drunk isn't going to help Spence."

"It's a good start." Spencer mumbled. She placed her palms flat on the countertop, bowing her head and inhaling deeply to clear her mind.

Why didn't she just stay upstairs with Toby? Why did she have to play that stupid game? The moment she watched Paige approach that circle she knew she should've bolted out of that basement as fast as her legs would allow, but she didn't. She should've known Emily wasn't comfortable with Paige playing that game, Emily was arguably the most jealous out of all four of them. She carelessly allowed her curiosity to overwhelm her sense of judgment and now, for the first time in her life, she didn't know what to do next. She had no escape route, and no contingency plan for how to repair the trust she'd endangered.

"Hey, I've been looking for you guys! Where'd you go?" Without turning around Spencer recognized the sound of Aria's voice approaching from the living room, followed by the dense thud of Jake's boots walking closely behind her. "What's up with Spencer?" The question was directed to Hanna, but the concern in Aria's tone compelled Spencer to turn around and answer her friend.

Unfortunately for Spencer, Hanna beat her to it.

"Spencer and Paige made out downstairs and now Emily's mad at both of them." Hanna's response was so casual you would think she were reciting the assembly instructions for a bedroom furniture set. She noticed Jake's eyebrows shoot up to his hairline and Caleb simply stood a safe distance away, quietly keeping out of the whole situation.

Spencer dropped her head to her hand, groaning loudly. She loved her friend dearly but Hanna was the absolute worst when it came to keeping her mouth shut.

"Did you have to phrase it that way? You're making it sound like we were groping in the laundry closet." Spencer scowled, flinging an empty cup at Hanna which caused the girl to swat at the air erratically as if her friend had thrown a lit stick of dynamite.

"So you did make out with Paige?" Aria asked, gaping at Spencer.

Spencer shook her head, deciding to clear up any misconceptions before Aria heard it from someone else. "We were playing Spin the Bottle. It got a little heated, but that's all."

"Oh…well, that doesn't sound so bad." At Spencer's explanation Aria calmed, waving her hand in the air to dismiss the severity of the circumstance.

"Easy for you to say." Hanna began. "You didn't see that kiss." She sent a pointed look to Spencer who sighed heavily before irritably refilling her glass.

She didn't think it was possible but somehow this night seemed to be getting even longer.

* * *

"Em, wait up!" Paige was out of breath by the time she finally caught up to Emily outside. She'd had to force her way through an entire house of sweaty party-goers and wound up spilling at least three people's drinks on her shirt in her haste to stop the girl. She was wet, winded and smelled of cheap beer but Emily being upset with her was infinitely more important than any of those things.

When Emily refused to acknowledge her or stop walking Paige grabbed her wrist, spinning her so that they were face-to-face. Even standing on the dimly lit lawn of the cabin Paige could still see the tears brimming in Emily's eyes and she knew the girl was struggling to keep them from falling. Her heart sank at the sight and she instinctively reached to console her girlfriend but her hand was roughly shoved away.

"Em, tell me what's wrong." Paige implored desperately, sounding just a forlorn as Emily looked.

"What's wrong?" She echoed, frowning so deeply Paige was sure it would leave a permanent wrinkle between her eyes. "You kissed Spencer!" She knew she was stating the absolute obvious but she was far too emotional to think rationally and all her words were just rushing out without filter. "You kissed Spencer and she kissed you back."

Paige's lips quirked up almost imperceptibly at the bluntness of Emily's statement. "Yes, I did kiss Spencer. I think we've established that much." Her tone was light, trying to ease Emily's distress with mild humor but it had the opposite effect.

"Are you seriously making a joke right now? I just watched you tongue wrestle my best-friend for over a minute, and you're joking about it?" She stared at Paige incredulously, her voice rising even more to meet her temper. Paige looked over her shoulder, noticing their arguing had attracted a small audience on the front porch, and some people were beginning to whisper among themselves. Privacy was a foreign concept in Rosewood and Paige was sure they would be the center of the gossip mill for a long while after this party. Dating Emily Fields had already brought along its fair share of gossip -considering Emily and her friends were magnets for public scandal- so Paige wasn't intimidated by the attention.

"Can we help you?" Paige asked irritably, keeping a hard stare on the onlookers until several of the them retreated into the house while the others turned away, pretending they weren't still eavesdropping.

"You're right, it's not funny." Paige said, turning back to Emily and making sure that her tone was serious, knowing Emily wouldn't appreciate humor it in her current mood. "I just don't know what to say Em. You pushed me into that circle and told me you were okay with it. I believed you." She stuffed her hands into the pockets of her jeans trying to keep from shivering as the night air chilled the damp t-shirt that was clinging to her skin.

"I lied." Emily responded as if she'd expected Paige to pick up on that a long time ago. She ran her hand through her hair in exasperation before finally settling on folding her arms to keep from fidgeting.

"Why?" Paige asked, bending her knees to catch Emily's eyes when they suddenly dropped to stare at the ground.

"Because…I was scared you'd enjoy it, and clearly I was right." Emily threw back accusingly. A part of her realized that she was being unreasonable and that it really wasn't Paige's (or Spencer's) fault that she was jealous. She'd agreed to play that game on her own, and she was the one who lied about being comfortable with it when she wasn't. The truth was, even though it was just a game, it hurt to see Paige share that side of herself with someone who wasn't her, and it didn't help that that "someone" was her best-friend who'd already admitted to having feelings -regardless of how slight they were- for her girlfriend.

"I didn't enjoy it." Paige argued weakly, knowing even before the words left her lips that it wasn't true and that anyone watching that kiss could tell.

Emily scoffed, turning her eyes skyward in frustration. "Could've fooled me." She turned to leave, wanting to put as much distance between her and the cabin as possible, but unfortunately for her Paige was much quicker and equally as persistent. She refused to let Emily leave without clearing the air between them.

"Okay, maybe I did enjoy it…" Paige admitted, blocking Emily's path each time she attempted to move around her. Once the words hit her Emily paused her escape long enough to hear Paige out. "…and maybe I got a little carried away, because honestly Spencer is a really good kisser, but that doesn't mean anything." She shrugged as if what she was saying was common knowledge and of no importance, but the deflated expression on Emily's face made it clear it was definitely important to her.

"I can't believe you just said that." Her voice was so small that if Paige wasn't standing a foot away Emily's words would have been swallowed up in the music still blaring from inside the cabin.

"I didn't say it to hurt you." She reassured. "I told you because we said we'd be honest with each other and I don't want to lie." She took a single step closer, trying to get Emily to look at her, but Emily countered it with half a step backwards. "Em, look at me." She needed her eyes on her. She needed Emily to see that she was sincere in what she was saying, and that she would never intentionally do anything to upset her. When Emily finally conceded, allowing her eyes to meet Paige's warm gaze, a small smile graced Paige's lips.

"Em, It doesn't matter how 'good' the kiss was because it means nothing unless you're the one I'm kissing. I'm in love with you, not Spencer. Just you. I would never have kissed Spencer if we weren't playing that game, or if I'd known you weren't comfortable with it." Paige waited a few moments, letting her words sink in before taking a cautious step forward. She could literally see the tension in Emily's body loosen, and she exhaled a breath of relief when Emily didn't move away again.

"Please, don't be upset with me." Paige whispered softly, resting her hand on Emily's cheek and brushing her thumb over the smooth skin beneath it.

"I'm not upset." Emily muttered, wiping at her eyes to swipe away the frustrated tears that snuck out between every blink.

"Liar." Paige muttered teasingly. She used the pad of her thumb to tenderly wipe at another stray tear before Emily gently pushed her hand away.

"No, don't do that." Emily whispered sadly.

"Do what?" For a second Paige thought that they were moving forward, but now she wasn't so sure.

"Don't be so forgiving." Emily complained, shaking her head as the guilt of how badly she'd reacted finally caught up to her, making her feel even worse than she had earlier. "You didn't do anything wrong. I shouldn't have blamed you." She hugged herself tightly, grateful that it was dark enough out that Paige couldn't see how flushed her cheeks had become from embarrassment.

Paige shrugged, brushing off the pressure Emily was placing on herself. "You got jealous. It happens." It wasn't in Paige's nature to rub salt in the wound, but for once Emily wished Paige was the one who got angry. Because being angry at Paige was like plucking the wings off a butterfly and it made Emily feel terrible.

"It doesn't happen to you." Emily pointed out. "You never get jealous."

"You want me to?" Paige asked in mock seriousness. "Because now that you mention it you might want to ease up on those sleepovers at Hanna's. No one needs that many movie nights." The joke inspired the first real smile she'd seen on Emily's face since she followed her outside, and Paige felt a small swell of pride for being able to brighten her girlfriend's mood.

"I'm serious Paige." Emily said, finally managing to subdue her smile long enough to coax a real answer from the girl. "Why don't you get jealous?"

Paige looked at her like the answer was obvious, because to her it was. "I trust you." She said it so matter-of-fact that Emily wondered how she didn't see that answer coming.

The three words hung in the air between them like a pendulum swinging back and forth, and suddenly Paige's expression dropped as she slowly registered the implication her own words carried. The implication that the reason Emily got so jealous was because she didn't trust her. Noticing the distress that flicked in Paige's eyes, Emily immediately worked to assure her, not wanting Paige to believe -even for a second- that she didn't have complete and utter conviction in her.

"I trust you too, you know I do." Her hand reached to grasp Paige's in hers, holding it tightly in a show of silent support.

"Then what? You don't trust Spencer?" Paige asked, half-joking and half-serious. She knew that Emily trusted her friends with her life and had no reason to doubt them, which is why she couldn't understand her reaction to what happened in the basement.

"Of course I do." The slight hesitation in her tone told Paige that whatever Emily was holding back definitely had something to do with Spencer.

"Did something happen between you and Spencer?" Emily's eyes darted away from her and she immediately knew the answer.

"It's complicated." Emily responded flatly. Intent on avoiding the direction the conversation was taking as she started to move towards one of the benches situated beside the cabin.

"I'm pretty good with complicated." Paige countered, following Emily and sitting closely beside her on the bench.

"Spencer…I…well…she kinda…"

"Em." Paige interrupted her stumbling as she rubbed circles on her back trying to get her to relax. "Just tell me."

"Spencer-has-a-crush-on-you." Emily rushed the words out so quickly she was barely audible even to herself, and she doubted if Paige even understood what she'd said.

"What?"

"She has a-"

"No, I heard what you said. It's just…ridiculous." Paige shook her head vehemently, unable to believe what Emily was telling her. Spencer Hastings and the word 'crush' didn't even belong in the same sentence, unless that sentence was "Spencer Hastings crushed 3 people with a single look."

"What's ridiculous about it?" Emily asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"Well, for starters she hardly ever talks to me, it took her months to stop calling me by my last name, and she still looks at me suspiciously anytime I hold a sharp object." Paige enumerated with a resigned shrug.

"After what just happened 15mins ago I think we can both agree that she likes you at least a little bit." Emily countered.

Paige couldn't argue with that reasoning, but the idea that Spencer saw her as anything more than Emily's girlfriend was hard to wrap her head around.

"When did you find out about this?" Paige asked, unable to mask the suspicion in her tone as an idea suddenly sprung to mind.

"3 weeks ago." Emily responded casually, missing the stunned expression on Paige's face completely.

"So, you knew about this three weeks ago and you still let me kiss her?" Emily froze, realizing she'd unwittingly walked right into trap. Paige was right, she should've told her a long time ago but she hadn't believed what Spencer confessed would go any further than that night in Aria's living room.

"I didn't think it meant anything." Emily replied guiltily, staring at her fingertips and twisting them in her lap.

"I'm sure it meant something to Spencer." Paige argued pointedly, feeling terrible that she'd inadvertently preyed on whatever feelings Spencer may have had towards her. It didn't bother her in the least that Spencer had a crush on her -if anything she was flattered, especially considering how reluctant Spencer was at accepting new people into her life- what did bother her was that she'd kissed Spencer and then thoughtlessly left her in that basement to face all the backlash alone.

"The only reason she even played that game was because I pressured her into it. Now she probably thinks you're pissed at her, or that it's her fault we were arguing. You have to fix this Em." Paige practically begged, hoping Emily could mend the situation better than she could given that she knew Spencer better.

"I don't know how to 'fix this' Paige." Emily complained, raking her hand through her hair.

"Talk to Spencer." Paige suggested firmly. "People can't help what they feel, you and I know that better than anyone. Whatever Spencer feels doesn't change the fact that I love you or that she loves Toby…sometimes a crush is just a crush. I'm sure she really needs you as a friend right now."

It always amazed Emily how easily Paige could resolve a situation with just a few simple words. It was one of the reasons they fit together so well, because Paige always knew how to reel Emily in when she was flailing to keep her head above water. She was the voice of reason when Emily let her emotions spiral out of control.

"You're really good at this you know." Emily said, smiling fondly at Paige and wondering how she managed to get so lucky to have a girlfriend so understanding.

"Good at what?" Paige asked, oblivious to her own charm as usual.

Emily didn't know how to explain all the ways Paige made her feel special, or how sometimes all it took was the sound of her voice to comfort her. She didn't know how to tell her that she was more afraid of losing Paige than Paige was of losing her, or that she worried that one day all her drama and constant jealousy would drive Paige away. She didn't know how to explain those things and frankly she didn't want to. Instead she settled on saying nothing at all, simply kissing Paige deeply and letting her actions speak all the words her tongue couldn't manage.

Paige eagerly returned the kiss, trying in vain to keep her excited smile subdued as Emily brought her hand behind her neck pulling her forward. She allowed her hands to travel up and down Emily's bare arms, enjoying the warmth and smoothness of her skin beneath her own cool palms.

When the need for air finally became too desperate they pulled away, touching their foreheads together and inhaling each exhale the other released.

"What was that for?" Paige questioned, still slightly breathless.

"Just for being you." Emily responded affectionately, allowing her hand to fall to Paige's waist. Her eyebrows scrunched a second later when her hand came into contact with something cold and wet. "You smell like you went swimming in Bud Lite." Emily smiled, struggling to suppress her grin as she continued to trail her fingers across the damp t-shirt sticking to Paige's abdomen.

"I've heard body heat does wonders for the drying process." Paige replied cheekily as she pulled Emily's body flush with hers and reclaimed her lips for a searing kiss.

* * *

"What's the matter? You haven't said two words since we left the party." Toby killed the engine as he pulled into Spencer's driveway, turning in his seat to face Spencer who was staring mutely out the passenger window. He'd been finishing up his game on the back porch when Spencer barged outside morosely, asking to leave. He could tell something was wrong just by looking at her, but every time he'd tried to get her to open up she'd adamantly insisted that everything was "fine."

"It's been a long night. I'm just tired." She faked a yawn and Toby studied her closely before slowly nodding.

"Okay, but is that all? Because you know you can tell me if there's something else." Spencer had every intention on telling Toby what happened in the basement but after her futile search for Emily at the party, and one too many Whiskey shots all she wanted to do now was go inside and collapse into her bed pillows.

"I know." She offered him a small smile while leaning in to press a firm kiss to his lips. A part of her celebrated the familiar warmth that spread throughout her body at the simple touch of his lips, feeling reassured of the strength of her love for Toby despite what happened earlier with Paige.

"Looks like you've got company." Toby commented as he pulled away from the kiss and his eyes traveled over Spencer's shoulder. He pointed towards the porch where, under the yellow incandescent glow, they both noticed someone sitting on the top step. It only took Spencer a second to recognize the girl huddled in front of her entrance, and two seconds after that she was hastily unclipping her seatbelt and throwing open the passenger door.

"I'll call you tomorrow." She said hurriedly, giving Toby one last kiss on the cheek before hopping out of the truck and all but running to where Emily was perched on her step. She slowed her pace as she got closer, all her adrenaline suddenly turning to lead in her bones at the sight of her friend and the uncertainty of what would happen next.

"Hey." She greeted hesitantly, cringing as the word left her lips. She'd been planning on saying so much more but the instant she opened her mouth her carefully constructed explanation got stuck in her throat.

"Hey." Emily echoed, standing up and dusting her pants off as Spencer climbed the steps coming to a stop in front of her.

Once the customary salutations were out of the way they both feel silent, and for a while the only sound around them was the chirping of the crickets and the humming of Spencer's porch light which desperately needed to be changed.

When the silence became too uncomfortable Spencer decided to just bite the bullet and say the first thing that came to mind, unaware that Emily's thoughts matched her own.

"I'm sorry." They both blurted the words at the same time, frowning immediately afterward because neither of them expected the other to be apologizing.

"What are you sorry for?" Spencer asked, quirking an eyebrow at her friend.

"You first." Emily dodged.

"Uhh, I made out with your girlfriend in a room full of people and you obviously weren't cool with it." Spencer resisted the urge to add 'duh' to the end of her sentence, knowing it was an unnecessarily smug thing to do. "Your turn." Spencer urged.

Emily took a small breath before speaking. "I overreacted. I shouldn't have made the two of you feel guilty for playing that game after telling you I was okay with it. It was really unfair of me." Her eyes remained glued on Spencer as she shuffled from foot to foot nervously.

"Can we just say what this is really about?" Spencer's voice was soft but full of the perceptivity typical of her personality. "You've been weird every since that night at Aria's." She folded her arms in front of her, hoping Emily would agree with what she was saying, but when the other girl simply looked away Spencer decided to keep going. "Last week at The Brew, when I offered Paige my scone because I was full, you practically jumped out of your skin to give her your bagel instead. You're jumpy whenever I so much as say her name and you wouldn't even accept Toby's invitation to ride with us to the party. I should've never thought you were okay with playing Spin-the-Bottle. I wasn't thinking and now I don't know what to do to make it right."

Emily sighed, knowing the conversation was inevitable at this point. She was afraid to ask what was on her mind but her curiosity wouldn't let the question die. She had to know. "Spence, be honest with me…do you like Paige?"

"Of course I like her. She's your girlfriend." Spencer replied flippantly, shrugging her shoulders for emphasis of her indifference.

Emily exhaled heavily at Spencer's blatant dodging of her question. "You know that's not what I meant."

Spencer frowned, feigning misunderstanding. "I like that she makes you happy, that she's loyal and that she does everything she can to protect you."

Emily's stare was stern. "You still didn't answer my question." She resisted the urge to tap her foot like a petulant child, knowing Spencer was just being stubborn at this point.

"And I'm not going to." Spencer replied calmly, shaking her head at Emily's look of protest. "I'm not going to answer it because it doesn't matter Em. You're with Paige and I'm with Toby and we're both happy with the people that we love. I'm your friend and I would never do anything to come between you two. That's all that matters. Everything else is just a distraction."

"Spencer, we can't just ignore the fact that you like my girlfriend." Emily responded, exasperated by her friend's reasoning.

"Why not?" Spencer seemed genuinely confused, which threw Emily because Spencer Hastings was never confused. About anything.

"B-because." Emily stuttered lamely, frustrated that she couldn't come up with a good enough reason for why they couldn't just ignore it.

"Emily, what happened tonight wasn't me making a move on Paige. I would never do that to you. It was just a game that went a little too far. I love you way too much to hurt you like that." Spencer's tone was sincere, almost pleading, and Emily couldn't help but be affected by her words. She trusted Spencer and she trusted Paige, it was her own emotions that she couldn't rely on.

Spencer was right. She had to let it go or else it would gnaw at her like a parasite until it destroyed them.

Sometimes a crush was just a crush.

She stepped closer, pulling Spencer into a tight hug which Spencer instantly returned, wrapping her arms comfortably around Emily's neck.

"Consider it forgotten." Emily muttered into Spencer's hair, feeling Spencer's hold on her tighten even more at her words, as if she were worried Emily would recant what she'd said if she let go too soon.

"I promise I'll never offer Paige my scone ever again." Spencer whispered after a few seconds, in total seriousness. She could feel Emily's chest vibrate against her shoulder as she laughed warmly at her comment.

"Paige hates bagels. She stared at your scone the entire time she was pretending to eat it." Now it was Spencer's turn to laugh and Emily couldn't help but join in.

**End **


End file.
